Hefndir Sturmhaukr
|image1 = File:Eirikr.jpg |caption1 = The Stormhawk |race = Falmer/Atmoran |gender = Male |age = 31(1E 139) |height = 2.11 meters |weight = 122 kgs |status = Alive |date_of_birth = 1E 108 |place_of_birth = Unspecified, Østmark |family = Skulgoll (Father - Deceased) Terselin (Mother - Deceased) Lynrae Sturmhaukr (Wife) Enpireth Sturmhaukr (Daughter) |titles = The Stormhawk |factions = Order of the Stormhawk The Companions (Formerly) |class = Barbarian Tongue }} ' , also known as '''Stormhawk and born as Karyor ( ), is a half Atmoran, half Falmer Tongue. He is the leader and founder of the Order of the Stormhawk. He lives at Krakevisa on the island of Wyrmstooth. He is the previous owenr of Bittnahjold and was was also the first man to do so after it's original creator. History Backstory Hefndir's mother was a Falmer and his father was a particularly vile Atmoran whom instead of killing the elven women, used them as his personal playthings. While these women were never allowed to give birth, due to the father murdering each one before they could give birth, one Falmer woman by the name of Terselin escaped his father's clutches and several months later gave birth to the child she would name Karyor in the safety of a secluded Falmer Village. Here Karyor was raised as a Falmer would have raised their own children, but he was a problem child among Falmer, stemming from his paternal lineage, despite learning the Falmer language and his parent's wish for him to become a healer, he became obsessed with the way of the blades, fighting with sword and axe one weapon in each hand, as a Teenager he left the Falmer Village behind and traveled Skyrim, his face always hidden by the helmet he wore, but his white eyes always shimmering just beneath the helmet's mask. The Falmer Village would soon after be burned to the ground unbeknownst to the young Half-breed He traveled Skyrim for years and over the course of his travels he eventually joined the Companion and discovered a former member named Skulgoll, the man who would later be revealed to be his father. Learning of the cruelty that this man had laid upon the women he took it upon himself to punish his father severely, and fatally through death. But despite the man's cruelty, Karyor lost his place among the companions, but it was just as well. Karyor wouldn't want to follow in the footsteps of his father. Leaving the Companions, Karyor took on a new name Hefndir, for the vengeance that he had exacted upon his father, he turned to Kyne for peace of mind. and eventually took the name of Sturmhaukr. Forevermore his name would be Hefndir Sturmhaukr. Living for years as a recluse he meditated and sought out power in whatever shape it would come in, this led him to the words of power, three called to him. The power to knock a dragon from the sky, the one to bring a storm down upon his foes and the power to seep the life out of whoever he believed to be deserving of it. Hefndir would eventually gather Men and Mer under him and with the blessing of Kyne forge the Order of the Stormhawk. To seek out anyone and anything that would pose a threat to their ideals and bring it to justice, be it man, mer or beast. Ballad of the High King The Dragon Jermulgraag Hefndir and his two subordinates: Reeth Gylden-hand and Tiskr Rjaakasig; had just finished a giant-killing quest. He had wanted to return to Krakevista, to his wife and child, but they had heard rumors in Dunstad about possible dragon sightings in Yorgrim. He couldn't just ignore that so the Stormhawks were heading there. He had had the opportunity to fight a dragon before, but lost the fight. He wouldn't be defeated again, he was stronger now. They took a carriage to Yorgrim, but didn't stay in the town. Instead, they immediately headed to the mountainside to search for the dragon. Their search proved fruitless as they had no idea where the dragon's lair was. As such, they decided to return to town, but Tiskr stayed behind to keep an eye out for any dragon activity. The duo asked around and was pointed to a farmer named Hrefna that lived south of the town. Reeth stayed behind to search for the farmer in the town, while Hefndir returned to fetch Tiskr and head to her homestead. He found Tiskr at his camp and gathered him to head to the farm. They found the farm not far from the town, but were greeted at swordpoint when they tried to knock on the door. The farms had been spooked by the strange men in armor, so Hefndir introduced himself to try to calm their nerves. They succeeded in calming them and began to question Hrefna about the dragon. She told them that her brother-in-law was the one that spotted the dragon and gave a rough location of its whereabouts. The Stormhawk thanked her for the information then went off to regroup with Reeth. They returned to the town and searched around for the mage at one of the taverns. They found Reeth at the Market Pike Inn. The trio headed south to the mountains, eager to face the dragon. They stuck to the paths and eventually found an unnatural clearing near the location where Hrefna suggested they look. The clearing showed signs of the dragon, the trees there had been broken with extreme force all at once. Reeth inspected the ground and found dried blood under a layer of snow. Before they had time to investigate further, Hefndir heard noises coming from nearby. He spotted eyes in the bushes at the edge of the clearing. It was a large snow sabercat and it was prowling closer to them. The half-elf slowly approached the sabercat, keeping himself between it and his subordinates. Reeth shot a lightning bolt at the cat, causing it to pounce on Tiskr. The two warriors hacked at the sabercat and eventually managed to get through its thick hide and kill the beast. They took the dead cat with them as they followed the dried blood trail, which led to a cave. It was dark by the time they arrived so they made camp near the mouth of the cave to sleep through the night. During Hefndir's watch, he heard growls coming near them. A large sabercat cub attacked them, but it was no match for the half-elf. He killed the animal with relative ease by himself. After the sun rose they headed deeper into the cave to find the source of the dried blood trail. They found a half-eaten corpse at the end of the trail. Reeth found a pouch on the body and inside found a Silver Dragon Claw. Hefndir noticed some light coming from behind them. He yelled out to the strangers, telling them to stop and identify themselves. A man named Harald Word-Bringer replied, the thane of Morvunskar. The group came face-to-face with them. There were 5 of them. The Stormhawks introduced themselves as well, telling them that they were on the hunt for the dragon. Harald went to investigate the corpse. Hefndir wasn't interested in these strangers, especially since Harald was kin of Ysgramor. He walked past him, refusing to help them. Harald ordered his housecarl, Skorm Snow-Strider, to stop them. Skorm blocked the path of the other two Stormhawks while the thane examined the corpse. Reeth threatned Skorm with a lightning spell while Tiskr drew his weapons. Hefndir threatened to shout them apart if they didn't let his compatriots pass. Skorm wasn't afraid of the mage and didn't move, following the thane's orders. Harald threatened the half-elf and demanded them to back off and tell him what they learned from the corpse. The situation was getting more tense until the mage stopped his spell and told his friends to calm down. He offered to tell the thane all they knew if he let them pass. Harald agreed once they swore on their honor and told Skorm to stand aside. The housecarl did so and the situation defused. The mage told them that the body of the treasure hunter came from the clearing, no doubt killed by the dragon. The sabercats dragged it into the cave, which was their lair. They followed the blood trail there just the other day and that morning found a dragon claw on the corpse. It was likely that the dragon's temple was nearby and the beast killed the treasure hunter to keep its location a secret. A foreigner reminded Harald of a female dragon cultist and he asked the Stormhawks if they had encountered her. They hadn't so asked him to explain. The thane warned them about her power. She was their clue so the group decided to hunt after her, first returning to the clearing to follow the tracks that the scouts had found there previously. Two from the group stayed behind to investigate something in the cave. The others returned to the clearing. The Stormhawks had reached it first and spooked the thane's scouts, but Harald calmed them down when they got there. He told his men what they found and asked them to report anything they found. One of the hunters, Þuli, showed them a torn up knapsack that they found southeast of the clearing. They also found another trail that led to the clearing, where the bag had been stuck to a tree. Inside was part of a map, but the part that was useless to them. They figured that the temple was nearby as they were pretty high up the mountain, so they split up to search for it. Since then the other party members returned, with a sabercat cub following after them. Skorm remained with the scouts, the Stormhawks went off on their own and Harald led the bounty hunters to the south. The Stormhawks went up the mountain to get a better vantage point to look for the temple. They jumped across a crevasse and found a ledge that overlooked a valley plateau. On that plateau they found man-made structures. By the time they got there the thane's group had already reached the plateau and found the temple door. Though it was only with Reeth's dragon claw that they managed to open the puzzle door and gain access in the temple. The door opened once the carved rings were in place and they headed inside. As they went up the flight of stairs at the entrance, Harald accidentally set off a trap. He told the others to stand back and then used Whirlwind Sprint to move himself out of danger. They reached the entrance hall without further incident and found natural sunlight coming into the room, which was odd. They found two corridors that led out of the hall so they decided to split up. The Stormhawks took the left one while the others took the right. They went down a dark corridor, fighting a draugr that burst out of one of the connecting doors. After it was dead they looted the room it came from then continued along the hallway. It led to a large chamber, which led to the library, the armory and some bedrooms. Reeth went up to search the bedrooms while Hefndir and Tiskr tried to get into the armory. They failed, damaging their weapons in the process. They then checked the library and found a key to the elaborate metal door in the large chamber. However, when they went to unlock it they set off a gas trap. After they set off the trap, Skorm joined up with them along with a man in heavy armor. They all ran up to the balcony to escape the gas. The mage explained the situation and they decided to search around for a way to stop the gas. Skorm went to open a door, but was blasted to the floor below by a draugr's thu'um. Half a dozen draugr attacked the group. The Stormhawks fought off the draugr. Skorm told them that the room with the draugr lord had a chain that might shut off the trap. They began trying to make their way to the room to shut off the gas trap. They fought with near perfect unison, as they were used to each other's fighting styles. They killed the undead warriors and Reeth pulled the chain. The gas stopped, but what was already there remained. They walked through the gas, luckily avoiding breathing it in as Skorm had opened the doors to the outside. A wave of fresh air sent the gas away as they found themselves in a secret crater in the middle of the mountain. They spotted the dragon there, standing on a ledge above and altar, with the other humans at that same altar. Hefndir approached the dragon and spoke to it in Dovahzul, much to the dragon's surprise. The dragon was angered by the Stormhawk and shouted, creating a storm over the crater. The thane told them all to scatter to evade the storm that shot down lightning at them. Hefndir shouted as well, creating his own storm that boosted the dragon's own. Hef's shout hurt the humans more than the dragon, angering Harald. The mortals rushed into cover, trying to avoid the storms. Hefndir taunted the dragon, trying to draw him out. It only succeeded in angering the dragon, who shouted with unrelenting force at him. By the time he got back up, the dragon had taken flight. Hefndir ran as the dragon tried to shout at him again from the air. He barely managed to escape another shout. The mage began to distract the dragon for the tongues to be able to catch him off-guard. Tiskr used Dragonrend on the dragon, sending him to the ground. The female cultist came out of hiding and attacked the group, trying to protect the dragon. The Stormhawks attacked the dragon while he was down, but Hefndir was blown away again. He headed back into the temple to retrieve new weapons as he had lost both his own. Instead of going against the dragon, he decided to attack the cultist. He left the dragon to Tiskr, Skorm, Reeth and Harald. The foreigner Kane and the armored man Stinralg weren't able to get past the cultist's defenses. However, as soon as Hefndir joined the fight things began going in their favor. The cultist was unable to defend against all three of them at once with swordsmanship alone so she shouted to slow down time. The cultist struck the half-elf, but luckily she missed his head. Instead she just knocked off his helmet. The Stormhawk panicked after his helmet was removed and stopped fighting her to cover his face. Kane stepped in to defend Hefndir against the cultist as she tried to finish him off. Tiskr came to help Hefndir retrieve his helmet. She easily dodged his attacks with her superior reflexes, but he had stalled her enough that she was back to regular time. She returned to her defensive stance now, but they saw that the dragon was finally killed by Harald stabbing it through the heart. When his helmet was retrieved, Hef and Tiskr charged at the outnumbered cultist. They flanked her, but she surrendered before they attacked. As they tried to restrain her, however, she attacked them and made a run for it. She shouted and slowed down time again. By the time the effect was over, she was long gone. The hunters celebrated their victory over the dragon. Hefndir gathered claws from the dragon as trophies to prove their kill. Tiskr looted a new shield and axe from the draugr in the temple. Reeth talked with the thane to ask for payment for their services. The thane told them to seek payment when they returned to Yorgrim, so they remained with the Atmorans until then. Skorm convinced Harald to also take a trophy of their kill back with them, so they lopped off the dragon's head and then had the scouts bring it back into town on the sled. Goodbye at Yorgrim The group arrived in Yorgrim the next day. Harald Word-Bringer rode in the front on his horse. Skorm Snow-Strider had the second horse, leading the sled carrying the dragon Jermulgraag's severed head. As soon as the first townspeople saw the dragon skull, word spread across all of Yorgrim. The people gathered around the group, their mouths gasping at the sight of the dragon's head. When they made it to the town square, Harald gave a short speech that caused the people to cheer his name and applaud the heroes. Chief Jænis arrived in the town square and called for a feast in their honor. The chieftain's announcement made the people cheer louder. That day Yorgrim was enthralled in a festival that lasted well into the night. Not even the cold could stop the Atmorans from celebrating. The Stormhawks didn't partake in the festivities, they kept mostly to themselves and waited for their payment. That came soon enough. Harald paid them collectively 4000 gold for their aid in killing the dragon. They split that gold up evenly. Reeth Gylden-hand and Tiskr Rjaakasig remained at the tavern while Hefndir left to explore the town in search of new equipment. He eventually came upon a smith by the western gate, creating weapons in a peculiar purple glowing forge. The smith recognized him as one of the dragonslayer and welcomed him to his forge. The smith introduced himself as Relan Völundr and upon noticing Hef's draugr weapons he said that they were unfit for a hero. He showed Hefndir one of his "seven treasures", the elven sword Bittnahjold, saying that it was the type of weapon a hero should use. The smith handed the sword to Hefndir for him to try it. Impressed with the sword, the half-elf agreed to buy it. He wasted practically all his gold on it, but it was worth it. The smith also fixed up the draugr's axe for him, while offering to buy the draugr's sword. Satisfied, Hefndir agreed and returned to the tavern. When Hefndir returned showed his new sword to his subordinates. They talked about the sword's smith, Völundr, as he was quite famous. Tiskr had met the man before as they both grew up in Drakefell. On their way out of town, Tiskr asked his master if he could remain in Skyrim instead of heading back to Wyrmstooth. He still wanted to fight as he had not dealt the final blow on the dragon. Hefndir was proud of his decision and even granted Tiskr the sword Bittnahjold as he would not be needing it back home. Reeth decided to remain behind as well, to keep an eye on his friend and make sure he stayed safe. They parted ways with the Stormhawk. Hefndir left for Dagastar to catch a ship back to Wyrmstooth. Due to Atmoran superstition on the island, it was difficult to find a ship to take him there but eventually he managed to find one that took him to the island, where he disembarked and trekked to Krakevisa. Atmoran Aggression Hefndir spent time with his wife and newborn daughter as he waited for the return of his proteges from their Orc quest. It wasn't until a month later that they finally returned to Krakevisa. Tiskr Rjaakasig returned Bittnahjold to his master after telling him of their success and how they had vanquished the Orc Chief. Several weeks later, a lesser member of the Order named Vaskr arrived at Krakevisa and informed them that Jarl Harald Word-Bringer had declared war on the Snow Elves over some supposed attacks that the elves conducted against the Jarl's lands. The Stormhawks didn't believe it, Hefndir in particular was enraged by this news. Enough so that he departed from Wyrmstooth, leaving his family behind in order to go help the Falmer against the Atmorans. He refused aid from Reeth Gylden-hand and the other Stormhawks, not wanting to involve them in the war. He also left behind Bittnahjold in Krakevisa. He assumed the identity of Karyor, leaving behind his persona of Hefndir Sturmhaukr. After saying his goodbyes, he left on the same ship that brought Vaskr to the island. Once on mainland Skyrim, he began heading for Mereth to seek out the Falmer. Karyor bought a horse in Dagastar as well as some supplies for the journey and then traveled to Shorstein, where he crossed the border into Mereth. He saw that the humans were mobilizing at the border as scouts were already patrolling the border. He avoided them and wandered into the elven fortress of Gondorin. The Stormhawk revealed to the Falmer that he was one of them, removing his Atmoran fur armor. He was met in the clearing by a female Falmer who questioned him. During the interrogation he told only the truth, though he refrained from telling her too many personal details about himself. He warned the Falmer that the Atmorans were going to invade, but they seemed to already be aware of that. He made clear that he was their ally. He revealed to them that he could use the thu'um and had used the skill to avenge his kin before. She was distrustful of him at first, seeing him as barely order than a child. Though Karyor confidently stated his skills and the battles that he had taken part in during his lifetime, however short it may seem to an elf. This seemed to gain her trust and he learned that she was Lady Yslenor, the leader of the fortress' garrison. After their conversation, she welcomed him into Gondorin. Inside the fortress he was given room and board in exchange for his allegiance and further information on the Atmorans since Karyor had lived among them for decades. He shared with Lady Yslenor the tale of his birth and how he killed his human father for the rape of his elven mother and the Order that he had created afterwards to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. He told her that he considered himself a Falmer and that he sought revenge for the atrocities committed by the Companions against his people. He also wanted to stop the humans from genociding the last of the Falmer. This ingratiated himself to Lady Yslenor, but she still had him watched in the coming months which he remained at Gondorin. The Falmer garrison had grown to trust him and get used to him during that time. Lady Yslenor had left the half-breed in the dark when it came to the developments of the last few months, only at the end of summer did she reveal that the Atmorans were finally on the move. He was taken to an underground room in the fortress where the Lady Curate activated a wayshrine and led him through to the last Falmer city, Ilinhame. He was amazed by the portal and the city that he found on the other side of it. Its splendor was unparalleled in all of Skyrim. She took him through the Chantry of Auriel and to a large meeting chamber where they took part in a debriefing by the Arch-Paladin, the leader of Mereth's military forces. He reported to them that the Atmorans had gathered a large army and were currently marching south towards the border. They knew that an attack was coming in the next few weeks as soon as they reached their target and that Gondorin was likely to be the first to encounter them. Karyor could tell that most of the elves at the meeting had no idea about the human threat and were shocked, among them the Elven Queen though she kept a straight face throughout the whole thing. Once the meeting was concluded, Yslenor brought Karyor to the top of the Chantry with a personal conversation with the leader of the Curates, her father Torvus. Torvus questioned him, but was immediately hostile towards him and insulted Karyor numerous times. Karyor was put off by this and returned the old elf's hostile tone. When Torvus insulted his family, Karyor almost attacked him, but Yslenor stopped a conflict from errupting. Torvus retired to his chambers, though before he ordered Yslenor to keep Karyor close since he still didn't trust him and to make use of him during the war. Yslenor apologized for her father's behavior, explaining that he was old enough to have lived through the first Atmoran-Falmer War and suffered greatly when witnessing the fall of their race. He had an immense hatred for the Atmorans and he couldn't look past Karyor's heritage. He didn't forgive the Arch-Curate for his insults, particularly against his family. The Lady Curate took him to the city's harbor, where they met with the Arch-Paladin once more. Yslenor wanted the Half-Breed to explain and demonstrate his powers to the Paladins. To demonstrate his Storm Call shout, they boarded two ships and sailed onto the lake around the island to a safe distance where Karyor could show them how his shouts worked. He even sparred with one of the Paladins to show his other shouts in practice. Once the demonstration was done they returned to Gondorin. The Falmer Genocide The Atmorans attacked just as the Arch-Paladin had reported. An army of them reached Gondorin and made their way towards the gatehouse as they were pelted with arrows and spells. Karyor was sent to the battlements to await until the humans were within reach to use his shout. Once the vanguard was close enough, Karyor shouted and brought down a storm on their heads. Unfortunately, the humans had mages with them that helped to protect against the lightning bolts. The enemy endured and once Storm Call ended they made their move for the gates, using Unrelenting Force to blast them apart. Personality Hefndir Sturmhaukr is a particularly brave half-elf with a strong dislike of the Companions who he sees as the most dishonorable scum on Nirn. He is extremely vengeful towards many Atmoran warriors due to their relentless massacre of the Falmer, and is prone to go into fits of rage. Appearance Standing at 2.1 meters in height and weighing over 120 kilograms, Hefndir is a large and powerful man. His skin is quite pale, it's darker than that of Falmer but lighter than most Atmorans, his hair is short cut and scruffy, it appears white and his eyes are a silvery colour. He is rarely seen without his armour and only washes his body or it in seclusion, in fact, the only people to even have seen his face apart from his lover are the top members of the Order. Powers and Abilities Hefndir's Atmoran blood gives him an innate resistance to cold, he also has the ability to cause frost damage on touch furthermore he is able to deal serious damage to anyone within a one-meter radius of him and knocking them back, a power that would only be rediscovered millennia later. Studying with the cult of Kyne Hefndir has mastered three shouts, Marked for death that causes his target to weaken considerably and drain their health, Storm Call that causes heavy downpour, accompanied by a fierce thunderstorm directly above him that throws powerful bolts of lightning down upon anyone underneath, and Dragonrend, the only shout that can knock a Dragon out of the Sky. Statistics *Attributes: Strength and Speed *Major Skills: Master One-Handed, Master Light Armor, Expert Atheletic, Expert Survival, Adept Leadership *Minor Skills: Acrobatics, Block, Sneak *Spells: Dragonrend(Joor Zah Frul), Storm Call(Strun Bah Qo), Marked For Death (Krii Lun Aus) *Powers: Resist Frost, Nordic Frost, Thu'um *Equipment: Patchwork Ancient Falmer Armor under a Fur armor reinforced with chainmail. He wields the blade Bittnahjold. Trivia *"Hefndir" is a possible Norse word meaning "Avenger". *"Sturmhaukr" is a fusion of the Nordic word "Sturm" meaning "Storm" and the Norse word "Haukr" meaning "Hawk". *The creation of Hefndir was erratic in that he was planned for over a month but all his details were made just after the original RP thread was posted. *Hefndir has been compared to Goblin Slayer in that he rarely if ever takes off his armor. *Hefndir was the first Poetic Edda Character to get an article. Category:The Poetic Edda Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Barbarians Category:Tongues Category:Half-Breeds Category:Order of the Stormhawk Category:Stormhawks